


How Traveling Merchant Chenle and his Overpowered Traveling Companions became (almost) Heroes

by fifteen_half



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alchemist Jaemin, Gen, Swordmaster Jeno, Traveling Merchant Chenle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:13:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27436390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fifteen_half/pseuds/fifteen_half
Summary: “Do you always have to do things the hard way?!” Chenle screeched, “Listen to me. Jeno-hyung can just sneak into the manor, knock all the bandits out, free Lord Huang, and take the bandit leader as hostage! Then Jaemin-hyung can heal everyone who got hurt with his potions while the Count sorts everything out! It’s fast and easy!”Jeno frowned, “If we want fast, then I could just cast Hell Inferno—,”“No, no, no, no, no! No to casting ancient high tier spells!”"Then Jaemin-hyung can just brew a potion that could knock just the bandits out," Jisung suggested, as if making a potion thatdidn't existwas fast and easy.Except Jaemin was actually nodding to that."No! No to brewing high tier potions either!""But—,”Chenle groaned. Whoever said that traveling with overpowered individuals would be smooth and easy definitely didn't know what they were talking about.
Relationships: Lee Jeno & Na Jaemin, Lee Jeno & Na Jaemin & Park Jisung & Zhong Chenle, Na Jaemin & Park Jisung, Park Jisung & Zhong Chen Le
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	How Traveling Merchant Chenle and his Overpowered Traveling Companions became (almost) Heroes

Huang Lin was immensely grateful that she was saved from her captors. She _knew_ she was in the midst of good people but even then, she couldn’t help but feel that something was _off_.

A normal person wouldn’t be able to hunt a Griffon that easily. Right?

She swallowed, “It’s an i-illusion. I’m probably still tired.”

Chenle, the traveling merchant who seemed the most normal, sighed, “Just don’t mind them,” he said nonchalantly, as if he was used to seeing this everyday, “They’re just stupidly strong people, that’s all.”

“B-but that’s a Griffon. An A-Class monster. Don’t you need a high level party to defeat A-Class monsters?! But just o-one person…?”

Chenle just shrugged, “If it makes it any easier, Jeno-hyung is probably already a swordmaster. So killing A-Class monsters by himself is probably nothing to him.”

“A swordmaster?!” she whisper yelled, her eyes nearly bulging from their sockets, “At that age?!”

Surreptitiously moving away from the pale and nearly hyperventilating woman, Chenle chuckled nervously, “Um, well, Miss Lin you must be hungry, right? Jaemin-hyung’s a great cook. The Griffon tenders he makes is really, really delicious!”

“You mean you’re not selling… we’re just eating the Griffon, an A-Class near legendary monster, for dinner?! Chenle-nim,” she said, her eyes filled with something akin to fear, “I’m… I’m not dead, am I?”

“Um, why don’t you wash up in the lake, Miss Lin,” Chenle suggested as he smiled awkwardly, “You had a really tough day today.”

The woman nodded but it was as if her mind was elsewhere. She stood up shakily and smiled even more shakily at Chenle, “Yes. I’ll do that, Chenle-nim. Thank you.”

Chenle sighed as he watched her walk unsteadily towards the lake.

“Do you think Miss Lin will be back?” Jisung suddenly asked, startling Chenle, “She looked even more scared then when we saved her. Is there something wrong with Griffons? Are we not supposed to eat them?”

Chenle, for the nth time that night, sighed. Then he raked his hands across his face in frustration and muttered, “I can’t believe I got used to your craziness! And it’s only been a year!” And then, looking seriously at Jisung he pleaded, “Please, please, _please_ don’t grow up like Jaemin-hyung and Jeno-hyung!”

Jisung looked at Jaemin who was busy preparing the Griffon to cook. Then he looked at Jeno who was busy cleaning his sword after hunting said Griffon. And then he looked at Chenle, tilted his head in confusion and asked, “What’s wrong with them?”

“They’re not normal!” the young merchant cried, “They’re the type you can’t leave by themselves! I need to watch over them ALL THE TIME,” he stressed, knowing Jaemin and Jeno could hear him, “because they ALWAYS leave a trail of destruction behind them.”

To that, Jaemin only laughed while Jeno at least looked sheepish.

“Seriously Jeno-hyung. A Griffon?! Couldn’t you have hunted normal prey like pheasants or boar?!” Chenle would never suggest rabbits anymore because Jaemin might be all calm and carefree all the time but he could be really, really scary, “I TOLD you about this already! Class A monsters are off-limits when we have guests!”

Jeno bowed and scratched the back of head, looking like a kicked puppy despite being the strongest person Chenle has ever known, “I only wanted to cheer Jisung up,” he mumbled, “So I forgot we had a guest.”

Honestly, these people! They can be so aggravating but they were also frustratingly _pure_.

Except…

Chenle slowly turned towards Jisung.

“You asked Jeno-hyung for the Griffon?”

The smile Jisung had on his face made Chenle shudder. In a voice so innocent, Jisung said, “She looked so sad, you see. And that made me sad.”

Chenle groaned. How could he have forgotten that the youngest among them was actually the _worst_?! Jisung actually reveled in the destruction and chaos caused by the hyungs!

“I trusted you,” Chenle gasped, looking at Jisung with wide, betrayed eyes, “You’re the only slightly normal person beside me. How could you do this to me?!”

Jisung, like the brat that he was, only laughed at his suffering. Then he whispered so that only Chenle could hear, “It’s fun seeing people react that way. It’s just Jaemin-hyung and Jeno-hyung. What’s so special about them?”

Chenle sighed so deeply he lost his breath. Even though they’ve spent a year on the road, his companions still found it hard to act like normal people. He couldn’t blame them though, seeing as how the three of them basically lived their entire lives in a hidden village where it was normal to see men using their fists to fell trees, where they grew crops using special grade potions as if it were water, where using magic was as easy as eating rice while the rest of the world struggled to even gather enough mana to start a small fire. 

His friends were something special he knew, but did they have to make his life miserable? Chenle thought he’d have no problems with them by his side as he traveled the world. What else would there be left to fear with stupidly strong people with him? Unfortunately, he didn’t realize how little they knew of the world. Chenle could still remember how a small village thought Jaemin was the Goddess' prophet because Jisung asked him to heal the very serious injuries of the village’s vanguard using his highly advanced Heal skill. They even trapped him in their church and _prayed_ to him! But while Jaemin was understandably uncomfortable with the treatment, Jisung and Jeno just laughed at his expense. He had too, at first, because it was funny seeing the usually calm boy look so _stressed_. But then it was becoming apparent that the villagers weren’t planning on letting Jaemin leave and it became such a headache for him to stop Jeno from destroying the church to get Jaemin out of there. It was a good thing Jisung listened to him, sometimes, so they were able to sneak Jaemin out without anyone knowing.

It was _easy_ for Jeno to cast a sleeping spell on the entire village, the elder boy had _that_ much mana, and yet he always resorted to destroying things first!

As he was wallowing in self-pity, he heard Jisung quip, “It’s only Miss Lin anyway. What harm would it do?”

Chenle couldn’t believe he bought that. Because the next day, said harmless Miss Lin was on her knees bowing in front of Jeno and was imploring him to help save her village.

“I may not have money right now. And I don’t have much to offer. But you are my only hope, Jeno-nim. If I continue to the capital, I fear there won’t be anyone left alive,” she said, her voice solemn, serious, “My home is being invaded by bandits who have taken my uncle, the lord of that county, and his family as hostage. I tried to send word to the capital to ask for help but I was captured right away. I… I don’t know what my actions might have caused but… I can only imagine the worst. So many people have died and will continue to die. I know… I know it will be difficult and I feel so remorseful for asking someone so young but a swordsman of your skill might be able to do it. If you are able to save my uncle, we will at least be able to have a chance. I beg of you Jeno-nim. Please help us. ”

After hearing her story, all four of them were speechless. They’ve traveled to many places and have met many people. And while most of them were pleasant experiences, some of them left a bitter taste in their mouths. But this… this was horrible.

From the look on Jeno’s face, Chenle knew he’d already agreed. Jeno never liked seeing people suffer. He always went out of his way to help. He was the type of person who would carry an elderly even though they were just crossing the street. Chenle had no problems with that, but they at least had to make sure. So he looked at Jeno and gave him a meaningful stare.

Jeno nodded. 

Chenle knew the feeling well by now. He could feel Jeno gather mana to cast a spell. A truth spell to be exact.

There was a hint of eerie in his voice when Jeno asked, “We will help you but only if you are telling the truth. If I find that you are lying, if I find that you seek to harm us, I will find no remorse to cast you away. Do you understand?”

With her head bowed to the ground, she nodded, slowly, as her entire body started to quake both from fear and pressure from Jeno’s magic.

“Is your home truly being invaded by bandits?”

“Yes.”

“Is your uncle the lord of your hometown?”

“He is.”

“How many bandits are in the town?”

“More than a hundred,” she whispered, “They’ve plundered the people and taken anything and anyone they please. It is hell in there.”

“How long has this been happening?”

“...months,” she answered, her voice shaking with barely contained despair, “So many months have passed and so many lives lost.”

“Do you know why they are there? What do they want in your village?”

Now there was a hint of anger in her voice, “Magic stones,” she answered, “Our town just discovered a cave with an abundance of such stones. We have no knowledge of mining being mainly a farming village so we sought out help from Glassheim. Unfortunately, we didn’t know that a group of bandits had made a den in the area and our messenger was intercepted. We were so _foolish_ ,” she said, her voice filled with regret, “We never even asked them to prove their identity. My uncle only realized the charade when my cousin decided to investigate and found out their plans. He… None of us have seen him since.”

Jeno cancelled the spell and immediately took her by the arms and bade her to stand up.

“I’m sorry for what happened to you, Miss Lin,” he said, sincerely, because that was who Jeno was, “But don’t worry. We’ll help.”

At those words, she went down on her knees and wept and wept and wept. Jeno had gone down with her and, like the absolute gentleman that he was, started to comfort her by rubbing her arms.

Jisung was by her side in that instant too. “It’s gonna be okay, Miss Lin,” he promised, his eyes burning with anger for her, for the innocent people in that town, because that had been him too once upon a time, “Jeno-hyung is strong. We’ll definitely save everyone.”

“Thank you, Jisung-nim, thank you,” she sobbed, over and over and over again.

But while the scene was very touching, Chenle still couldn’t help but worry. Because unlike his companions who had the privilege and confidence to help because of their strength, Chenle was painfully normal. If he could turn back time, he would’ve immediately parted ways with the elder lady, just so his friends won’t face this danger. The bandits might be painfully normal too but a hundred was not a number to scoff at.

Just as he was beginning to work himself up, Jaemin, like the mind reader he said he wasn’t but always seemed to be, ruffled his head and assured him, “If the bandits don’t have a swordmaster in their midst, I’m sure it will be fine. We’ll plan this well like always. And if anything,” the gray-haired older boy said with a bright smile on his face, “I can always save their butts.”

Chenle laughed, relieved. Then he cheekily said, “I guess even you can be reliable too, hyung.”

“What?!” said hyung complained as he reached out in an attempt to pinch Chenle’s cheeks, “I feed you and provide you with potions to sell and you say I’m _not_ reliable?! Chenle-yah, come here!”

Yes. Everything will be alright.

* * *

No. It was _not_ going all right.

“Why can’t I just defeat them all?” Jeno asked, his face serious and clearly confused why he couldn’t just barge into the town and fight all the bandits. By himself. “As long as none of them are as strong as Siwon-hyung, I’m sure I can handle them.”

Chenle already had a headache.

“Because,” he stressed, again, “We’re trying to be discreet! If someone alerts the boss of what’s happening, who knows what he’ll do!”

“I can do it fast enough so that no one will get the chance to,” he replied with a frown, still unconvinced. And yes, of course Jeno could but that’s not the point!

“How would you even distinguish the bandits from the normal citizens, huh?” Chenle challenged, in an attempt to convince Jeno another way.

Jeno shrugged, “I can! And if I accidentally hurt someone, Jaemin could just heal them.”

While Jaemin nodded, Chenle groaned. He slapped Jaemin’s shoulder and pointedly looked at him, “You’re not helping, hyung. We don’t want anyone else to get hurt!”

“Then how about this,” Jisung suggested, “Jaemin-hyung can make a potion that would tell who the bandits are. We can pour it in their well so they’d all drink it. That way, Jeno-hyung won’t hurt anyone innocent!”

Jaemin nodded at that too. But in the first place, could a potion like that really exist?! Can Jaemin really make a potion that sounds like it came from a fantasy novel?!

At this point, Chenle wondered why he even bothered to question Jaemin’s alchemy skills. Jaemin could practically make any potion he wanted to. The only problem with it was that any potion Jaemin made was _too_ good. Chenle had to make sure to dilute all the potions he’d make so he could sell them. If a Tower Alchemist ever learned about Jaemin’s skill, Chenle had no doubt that they’d chase Jaemin to the ends of the world and lock him up in the Alchemist Tower for eternity so that they could squeeze every bit of knowledge Jaemin had. Tower Alchemists were just that crazy. At least that was what the rumors say.

Realizing he’d spaced out for a while, Chenle shook his head and glared at his friends.

“Do you always have to do things the hard way?!” he screeched, “Jeno-hyung can just sneak into the manor, knock all the bandits out, free Lord Huang, and take the bandit leader as hostage! Then Jaemin-hyung can heal everyone who got hurt while the Count sorts everything out! It’s fast and easy!”

Jeno frowned, “In that case, I could just cast Hell Inferno—,”

“No, no, no, no, no! No to casting ancient high tier spells!”

“Miss Lin said there’s a barrier over the manor though,” Jisung reminded them, “Would Jeno-hyung be able to enter without alerting anyone?”

“That’s why I said I should just fight every single—,”

“Hyung, you can easily conceal yourself even with that barrier, right?” Chenle asked, even though he already knew the answer.

Jeno pouted. That hyung actually pouted!

“I can. But it’s boring that way.”

Chenle facepalmed, “Please don’t use this as an excuse to go wild. We’re trying to save lives here, remember?”

“Bandits deserve every bit of pain, though,” Jeno mumbled.

He was probably thinking about Jisung and how the youngest’s entire clan was wiped out because of bandits. The young boy was the only member of his clan left. If the hidden village’s elder hadn’t found Jisung that day, the young boy might not have even survived. This was so very Jeno and it was so very sweet but Chenle only wanted to keep everyone out of unnecessary danger. Why can’t they understand that?!

“This is this,” Jaemin suddenly spoke as he smiled fondly at Jeno, “And that was then. We’ll do it Chenle’s way because that way is the safest.”

Jeno sighed as he nodded though he still grumbled silently, “I could really tweak Hell Inferno to target only the bandits tho…”

As Jaemin busied himself with squishing Jisung’s cheeks, because the youngest apparently did something adorable or something, Chenle sighed and massaged his head. His friends gave him the worst headaches!

When something warm enveloped his body, Chenle opened his eyes he hadn’t even known he’d closed and saw Jaemin smiling fondly at him, “Thanks for looking out for us, Chenle-yah.”

Jeno and Jisung were nowhere in sight.

His headache now gone due to Jaemin’s Heal, Chenle snorted, “Someone’s gotta be the mature one here.”

“And you think that’s you?” Jaemin asked, laughing loudly, “Who was it that refused to eat the vegetables I made just this morning?”

“Breakfast shouldn’t contain vegetables, hyung!” Chenle shouted, then he pouted and stuck his tongue out at Jaemin. Jaemin only laughed harder.

“Miss Lin should be back any minute now,” Jaemin said, “I hope the situation isn’t too bad.”

After promising to help, they had immediately set out towards Huang County. They arrived a day and a half later. As soon as they arrived, Miss Lin told them she’d scout the town and get as much helpful information as she could. She was clearly still uncomfortable with letting someone so young risk their lives for strangers, but she had no other choice left. She must have felt she needed to help make her request a little more doable by getting more information.

Now they were just waiting for her return before starting their plan.

“Maybe they won’t need our help anymore,” Chenle quipped, hoping.

* * *

They shared their plans with Miss Lin when she returned.

She bit her lip, clearly worried, and asked, “Will you really be able to get past the barrier undetected, Jeno-nim?”

Jeno nodded, “I only need to create a similar mana wavelength to the barrier and it would let me in,” as if doing that was easy and simple, “It’ll be fine. Then I’ll just find the mage and knock him out so the barrier disperses.”

Like that was easy and simple.

“Jaemin will sense the barrier disperse and alert you. The plan’s a bit complicated but it’ll work, Miss Lin.”

Miss Lin just blinked, trying to get it all in. Chenle could guess what she was thinking. Swordmasters were rare enough. There were only five known in the world and just one in this continent. And while magic swordsmen weren’t as rare, they were still sparse enough! The fact that Jeno was a swordmaster _and_ a mage was simply something incomprehensible to her.

“I… see,” she stuttered, “If Jeno-nim says so.”

Jeno smiled, “It will be alright, Miss Lin.”

When Jeno left to infiltrate the manor, and while Jisung and Jaemin were out of earshot, Lin asked Chenle, “Is Jeno-nim really a swordmaster?”

Chenle shrugged, “We’re not actually sure since Jeno-hyung refuses to take the any exam but we met with Lord Minho once and he said he’d never met a swordmaster like Jeno-hyung before. Like, he said his aura felt different? I don’t really know. I’m not a swordsman. Jeno-hyung didn’t care much about it either.”

“Lord Lee Minho…? Our kingdom… no, this continent’s only swordmaster said something like that?” Without waiting for a reply, she asked another question, “And what of Jaemin-nim? Is he actually a mage? To be able to sense magic dispersing… is not something any alchemist could do!”

Chenle chuckled, “Jaemin-hyung’s occupation is mainly an alchemist but he is a pretty good mage too. He isn’t as strong as Jeno-hyung when it comes to magic but I have seen him cast Chain Lightning at Jeno-hyung as a joke once.”

She choked. Chain Lightning, just like Hell Inferno, were both ancient spells that only a handful of _sages_ were able to cast. She then wandered off in a daze.

Chenle watched her go with a barely hidden grin. In all honesty, it _was_ fun to see people react like that. Because despite Jaemin and Jeno’s near legendary skill levels they were quite a pretty dumb pair.

Just as Chenle was about to sit down for the wait, Jaemin informed them, “The barrier’s gone. Shall we move?”

Chenle sighed. Barely ten minutes passed since Jeno left. He really shouldn’t be surprised by now but he couldn’t help it. His friend was just too over the top. Glancing at Miss Lin, he chuckled as he watched her gape at Jaemin. When Jaemin raised his brows at her in question, she visibly shook herself and went to his side, determined.

When Jisung moved forward too, Jaemin smiled tenderly at him, “We’ll be quick, Jisung-ah.”

Jisung stopped and sighed, “I’ll be able to help one day,” he muttered. Then he looked straight at Jaemin and made him promise to, “Come back safe, okay? No injuries!”

Jaemin laughed, “I promise.” Then he turned towards Miss Lin, “Shall we go?”

With a nod, Huang Lin left with Jaemin.

No matter how many times he’s experienced this, especially with Jeno’s penchant for saving every distressed being he could, Chenle really hated waiting. He was a normal person with absolutely no magic nor fighting skills. And so when Jeno was being heroic and when Jaemin went to help, he and Jisung would wait impatiently for both of them. They’ve always returned in the same condition as they left so far but Chenle knew that one day that might not be the case. And so every time he had to wait, Chenle dreaded that this day might be that day.

“I shouldn’t have made Jeno-hyung hunt that Griffon,” Jisung suddenly said, guilty, “If I hadn’t, then this wouldn’t have happened.”

Chenle understood Jisung’s feelings but, “Jisung-ah, this is Jeno-hyung we’re talking about, right? Even if Miss Lin didn’t know, he would have definitely offered to help once he learned of her story.”

“Yeah, but still! If they get hurt it’ll be partly my fault.”

“Jisung-ah…” Chenle warned, glaring at the younger boy.

After glaring right back, Jisung sighed, “I just hate waiting,” he said, his hands balled into fists, “I’m scared that one day they’ll really get hurt and it’ll be my fault. They didn’t even want to leave our village! If I hadn’t left… I mean it’s useless anyway! My clan is gone. I can’t even find traces of them! If I hadn’t insisted on leaving then they'd still be at the village, safe and happy! It’s a hundred plus against two this time. I don’t think they’ve ever gone against such a huge number before. What if… what if…”

Chenle couldn’t take it anymore, he walked over to Jisung and slapped him hard on the head.

“Park Jisung if I ever hear you say it’s your fault one more time I swear I’ll tell Jaemin-hyung! It’s no one’s fault but those bad men, okay?! Your hyungs are strong. Believe in them.”

Jisung was massaging his head as he said, “Not just my hyungs. They’re yours too.” When Jisung looked at Chenle, he at least looked calmer now.

“I do call them hyungs.”

“No, I meant, like, family, you know?” Jisung stuttered, embarrassed at having to speak of such things, “We’re your family now too. Even when we find your family,” Chenle was seriously touched that Jisung used ‘when’ and not ‘if’, “When we find them, we’d still be your family. That’s how it is. That’s how it will be.”

By the Goddess, Jisung was the sweetest thing ever. Small wonder why Jaemin loved to dote on him.

And because he was the mature one here, Chenle coughed and said, “Th-thank you, Jisung-ah. When I find my family, I’ll adopt all of you so we’ll all be together.”

Though his words were, “I don’t want to share the same family name as you!” Jisung was laughing brightly, pleased.

* * *

This time around, their worries thankfully remained unfounded. Both Jaemin and Jeno returned in the same condition as they left, which was surprising in itself because that was over a hundred versus two! With the flurry of activities after the capture of the bandit leader, the four of them were mostly left to their own devices. When they offered to leave so that they wouldn’t be a bother, Count Huang Weilong personally asked them to stay. Tempted by the thought of an actual bed to sleep on after weeks on the road, they accepted.

On the first day of their stay, the four of them simply lounged in a freshly cleaned room, big enough that it could hold four separate beds. 

On the second day, Chenle started to feel restless so he dragged Jisung out with him to wander around. The town was so busy rebuilding that no one paid the two strangers any attention. During the trip, they found Miss Lin among the injured, healing them without stopping to rest. They hadn’t known she was a Healer before so they were surprised upon seeing her there. When she looked up and noticed them looking at her, she smiled tiredly at them and nodded to them in greeting. They had heard her story, of course, they’d known there were a lot of injured, but seeing the actual numbers pushed both Chenle and Jisung into action.

The Count had actually already bought all the potions he had for sale but at that time Chenle hadn’t known just how many people needed to be healed. So as soon as they reached the manor, Chenle went straight to the stables and gathered all the remaining potions they hadn’t diluted yet from their carriage. Jisung, on the other hand, went straight to their room and asked Jaemin to brew more potions. 

That day, they worked without rest. Jaemin was the busiest, making potion after potion after potion. With his true nature, Jisung had been essential in foraging for ingredients Jaemin needed. Along with Jeno, both of them were able to gather ingredients quickly with no problems. Chenle, on the other hand, made sure that their alchemist rested enough and ate enough as he worked. Jaemin had this frustrating tendency to forget even his own mana levels when he worked, resulting in a lot of nosebleeds and panic.

So on the third day, Chenle and Jisung showed up with two boxes filled with the highest grade healing potions. Not wanting to draw too much attention, Chenle claimed they were only A-Class White Potions, something that common people could only dream of purchasing, and so its effectiveness was believable enough. Thankfully, Miss Lin was too grateful and too busy to check up on said potions. And because it was mostly Chenle, Jisung and Jeno who administered the potions (Jaemin wasn’t present, they forced him to rest after he nearly did a nosedive into one of his boiling pots), no one questioned the supposedly ‘A-Class’ potions which were potent enough that it could even reattach severed limbs. They were actually SS-Class potions, after all.

On their fourth day there, a small private feast was held, attended only by them and the Huang family. Chenle had asked them not to reveal their involvement this time, that they were simply guests who came at a bad time, as all four of them agreed that they preferred anonymity to fame. At the same time, a feast was also being held at the town, a celebration for its freedom and of new beginnings. At the end of that day, the gloom which had been heavily present finally began to be replaced with hope.

Today was their fifth day in the town and they were all prepared to leave.

As this was going to be their last breakfast there, the family made sure to prepare all the best dishes. Present at the table were Miss Lin, the Count himself, his wife and his daughter.

Breakfast was a pleasant affair. The Huang family hadn’t been able to speak with them being so busy with repairs so they took this time to learn about the young heroes. Chenle and Jisung were the most vocal, of course. Through them, the family were regaled with tales of their travels, the people they’ve met, and all the creatures they’ve seen. The continent of Ensydia was so big that even after a year on the road there were still more to explore.

The family learned little facts about each of them too. How Chenle was a merchant whose goal was to travel the whole continent. That Jisung was a boy he met while traveling, in the remotest village he’d ever been to, who wanted to see the world outside but had no courage to. Jaemin and Jeno were Jisung’s childhood friends who encouraged him to take a step into the world by offering to come along with him.

“Jaemin-hyung and Jeno-hyung learned most of what they know from their masters in that village,” Chenle said, “Jisung’s guardian loved him too much so he was coddled most of his life that’s why he has zero life skills.”

When Chenle yelped after being pinched by a blushing and fuming Jisung, Huang Mina, the count’s eldest daughter said, “I can’t help but picture a small, hidden village filled with hidden masters considering how Jeno-sshi achieved swordmaster status at such a young age and how Jaemin-sshi can produce A-Class White Potions at such an incredible speed!”

That was the truth of course, but none of them would ever admit that so they all just laughed.

Nearing the end of breakfast, Miss Lin conversationally asked, “Jeno-nim, have you ever thought of working in the capital as a royal knight? Our kingdom, no, any kingdom in fact, would do anything to acquire the services of a swordmaster. You would have fame and fortune beyond imagination.”

Count Huang nodded, “I know many people who would be able to help,” he offered, “If you wish to, I could send word to them. You only need to say it.”

To that, Jeno smiled and politely shook his head, “Thank you for the offer, Weilong-nim. A lot of people we’ve met have been saying the same things to me but fame and fortune aren’t things I want or need. I am happy,” he said with palpable sincerity, “where I am right now.”

“But… being known for attaining the highest grade of swordsmanship is the goal of all swordsmen, is it not?” Mina asked, looking confused, “Then why…?”

“Because hyung isn’t normal, Mina-nim,” Chenle said with a mouthful of flower cake, a dessert he’d been craving for for a while now, “He’s just a simpleton who likes simple things.”

When Jeno glared at him, Chenle just laughed.

“Sometimes,” Lady Huang Fei Xian, the Count’s wife, interjected, “I feel as if the four of you are just a dream. You’re all so young and yet so capable. Wiser than those your age, too. If I’d achieved something of great importance, I wouldn’t mind all the attention myself.”

“Jeno-hyung hates being at the center of attention though,” Jisung laughed, teasing, “He’s really shy.”

“I would accept that coming from Chenle or Jaemin, but you?” Jeno scoffed, “You still hide behind me when we have to walk in crowds. Don’t think I can’t feel your hands clutching my sleeves!”

“Yah, hyung! Stop it!”

“That isn’t because of Jisung’s shyness though,” Jaemin piped up even as he was immersed in tasting every single dish on the table, “He’s just a scaredy cat, that’s all.”

“Jaemin-hyung???”

Jaemin laughed, “It’s true!”

As the four of them squabble like children, Chenle kept a watchful eye on the members of the Huang family. Seeing that their expressions only contained fondness and with no hint of malice, Chenle was relieved. Jeno’s skill was the stuff of legends after all. And because they were all so young, Chenle understood that it was tempting for others to want to take advantage. It has happened before. And Chenle had no doubt that it would happen again. They were just lucky that this time, they were able to meet very good people.

“I’ve packed as many flower cakes as I could,” Lady Fei Xian told them, “I’ve charmed the boxes as well so that the cakes would remain fresh for at least three months. But Jisung-sshi, Chenle-sshi, are you sure this is only the reward you want?”

Jisung happily nodded. Chenle himself was very happy with this too, “I’ve really missed flower cakes! I could eat them for a whole month without getting sick of them, I swear!”

“Can you really not think of anything you need, Jeno-sshi?” she then turned to Jeno, “Anything at all?”

Jeno shook his head with a smile, “I’m happy as long as Jisung and Chenle are happy. They’re less prone to annoy us that way.”

As Jisung squawked in protest, Chenle only laughed because it was true.

“How about you Jaemin-sshi?”

Jaemin was about to shake his head but he stopped, looked thoughtful before he hesitantly asked, “If it’s okay, I’d like to learn the preservation spell? The one used for the boxes?”

That stunned Chenle. “You don’t know the preservation spell?!” he screeched, unable to believe that Jaemin didn’t know a basic spell, “That’s like, the most basic spell. It’s one of the first spells students learn!”

Jaemin shrugged, “Jeno and I never went to a magic institute, remember? I do know another version of it but it’s too inefficient if I use it on food.”

Chenle didn’t even bother asking what that was. It was probably another high tier spell anyway.

“I could probably break the spell down from the boxes,” Jaemin added, totally oblivious to the looks the Huang family sent his way because it was totally _normal_ to learn a spell by breaking it down _after_ being cast, “But it would take some time. If Fei Xian-nim wouldn’t mind teaching me, then I would really be grateful.”

The Lady of the Huang County looked speechless for a moment before she coughed and said, “Oh my… well, of course I don’t mind! But even so, it’s just one simple spell. I don’t think it is enough to make up for all the potions you brewed for us, Jaemin-sshi.”

“Freely teaching a spell is more than enough, Fei Xian-nim.”

“It’s okay to ask for more, Jaemin-ah,” Jeno urged. Because if Chenle’s main source of headaches came from trying to keep Jeno and Jaemin’s skills low-profile while keeping trouble magnet Jisung in check. Then Jeno’s main source of headaches came from getting Jaemin to admit he wanted something or needed help. Chenle can’t even remember the number of nosebleeds he’d seen from Jaemin because of mana overuse. When he’d complained about Jaemin’s lack of self-preservation to Jeno once, Chenle didn’t expect the other boy to sigh helplessly in response. ‘It’s not his fault’, he’d said, ‘he just doesn’t know how to rely on anyone other than himself.’

Jaemin chuckled in response, “Aigoo Jeno-yah, I swear I’m good.”

“Then, how about this,” Count Weilong offered, “I know that magic stones are essential ingredients for alchemists. We haven’t mined a lot yet but you can take as many as you need. If you need more, just write to us in advance and we’ll gladly prepare them for you.”

Jeno looked to Jaemin at that, smiling at him encouragingly. “I’ll even refine them for you,” the black haired boy said brightly, “We’ll get some, okay?”

Wait.

Jaemin sighed, smiling, “Alright, Jeno-yah. We’ll take some.”

Hold on.

“Great! You go overboard with potion making all the time you really need to check yourself. I’ll refine them, okay? The Goddess knows you never will.”

Just… 

Jisung snickered, “Good idea, hyung. Jaemin-hyung will never use them otherwise. He’s way too lazy to do it.”

Hold on for ONE second!!!

“It’s ‘cause it’s so boring! I’d rather just actually sleep instead of refining.”

“E-excuse me for a second here,” Chenle started. Because even though he knew nearly nothing about alchemy, Chenle had never even heard of _refining_ magic stones. “Magic stones can be refined? Why would you need to refine them in the first place?”

Jaemin looked at him questioningly, “How would you make sure the potions would turn out right otherwise?”

“You can’t?” Chenle shot back, “Isn’t that why alchemy is so expensive? Because you often need to make several attempts and use a lot of ingredients before brewing one successfully? You don’t know when it’ll succeed, you just need to keep trying until you do?”

“Well that’s just dumb,” Jaemin frowned, “Have you ever seen me waste ingredients?” Well now that it was brought up, Chenle did wonder why Jaemin’s success rate was so high. He’d chalked it up to just Jaemin being Jaemin the way Jeno was Jeno and just forgot about it. Jaemin continued, “That doesn’t sound right. Are you sure they brew potions that way? We haven’t even met an alchemist yet so how would you know?”

“I don’t need to meet one to know, hyung! It’s common knowledge!” Chenle exclaimed, frustrated.

“But you just need to follow the recipe! Unless...” he trailed off. Then he grinned at Jeno as he continued, “Unless their control over their mana is shit, then they’d definitely fail.”

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Jeno huffed, indignant, “We can’t all have precise control over our mana.”

Jaemin snickered, “Jeno blew the roof of my shed once in an attempt to brew a—,”

“Aaaand we’ll end that story there!” the swordmaster quickly intervened, “Jaemin-ah,” he warned.

The young alchemist only laughed.

“I can brew potions,” Jeno said, as if he was trying to defend himself, “But unlike this genius, I have to use magic stones. I’m not as good at refining them as Jaemin is but at least I’m patient enough,” he stressed, looking meaningfully at the alchemist, “To make them.”

Miss Lin gaped, “J-Jeno-nim, you can brew potions too?”

“Anyone with magic can, can’t they?” Jeno answered with a confused frown.

“Right,” Miss Lin chucked, “Of course.”

It was true. Anyone with magic can brew potions but the way the world worked today was that you couldn’t be both. Mages and Alchemists were both highly secretive of their knowledge. Even if a person does have magic, they wouldn’t be able to learn how to use and control it until they entered either a magic institute or an alchemist institute. It was another reminder of how different these young men were.

The Count hummed in thought, “I understand that magic stones are used either to trigger an endothermic or exothermic reaction depending on the potion being made. They may even be used as a solvent to dissolve ingredients and make sure that the mixture would be completely homogenous,” he said, revealing his interest in the art, “However, though the recipe is known, it is still difficult to tell when a potion will be successful because even a minute error in measurement would ruin the potion. Alchemists have theorized that magic stones need to be cut in very specific ways to create the perfect mixture. What that cut is is still being studied today. Is this what you meant by refining? Is this how you ensure you’ll be able to brew successful potions?”

Jaemin and Jeno looked to each other at that, both of them with frowns on their faces. Then Jaemin asked, “Does ‘cutting’ mean carving out the correct mana path?”

“The correct… mana path?” the Count asked, his brows raised in surprise. And then, as if a revelation dawned on him, his eyes brightened as he exclaimed, “Of course! All living things contain mana. We assume that because stones don’t grow or change by itself that they aren’t living. However, the fact that magic stones already contain mana means that at the very least they must contain a living essence. Which means that magic stones have mana paths as well?”

Jaemin nodded as he smiled, “Yes, Weilong-nim.”

“Fascinating,” the Count breathed, “Then refining would mean?’

Jaemin was silent for a while, trying to find the words to explain. When his eyes met that of Miss Lin’s, he sat up and explained, “Refining is the same concept as Heal,” he said, smiling at Miss Lin, “In the way that you _correct_ the stone’s mana paths just as how a Healer would fix their patient’s mana paths to cure them from curses. Refining is just bringing or coaxing the stone’s mana path to its original pattern. This way, the stone’s mana output would be stable.”

“And because it is stable,” the Count continued, “You only need to figure out the correct amount of mana needed for a potion. Now it is possible to tell if a potion will fail or not.”

Jeno and Jaemin nodded. However Jaemin also added, “For complex potions however, it’ll be harder to control the reactions. In this case, you really will need a lot of trial and error before balance is attained.”

Count Weilong sighed as he smiled in concern at the two young men, “Thank you for sharing this knowledge to us. However, do be careful with it. In the wrong hands, it might cause unexpected trouble. Knowledge is terrifying,” the count said, now looking straight at Jaemin, “And the world is filled with greedy men. I fear that your safety might be jeopardized because of this.”

“I understand, Weilong-nim. We’ve had encounters like that in the past,” Jaemin said as his nose curled in distaste at the memory, “But thank you for the concern. We’ll be careful,” Jaemin promised. And he was. Chenle was actually the least worried about this hyung of his. Jaemin was worldly, independent, and reliable despite coming from the same village as the two airheads.

“Jaemin-nim,” Miss Lin suddenly called. When they looked at her, they were surprised to see her looking both anxious and hopeful. “You mentioned about fixing mana paths to cure curses and I... I know you’ve done so much for us already however, if you would allow, I’d like to ask for one more favor.”

“May I ask what the favor is?”

This is the difference among his three friends, Chenle thought. Jeno and Jisung would agree right away. Jaemin, at least, asked first.

“My cousin was found yesterday, deep within the bandit’s den—,”

“Lin,” the Count suddenly said, looking conflicted, “We agreed to—,”

“Uncle, I know. But this is Renjun. And I refuse to give up on him. I know you do too. We all do,” she said, “Couldn’t we at least try?”

At her uncle’s nod of acceptance, Lin continued, “The town’s Chief Priest and I tried everything we could. We even tried Jaemin-nim’s potions. But none worked. He is in an unconscious state but he continues to writhe in pain. Judging by the curse marks on his heart, we believe it is the Curse of Eternal Penitence.”

Chenle’s heart immediately sank. The Curse of Eternal Penitence was created by the kingdom as both deterrent and punishment for those who would commit the heaviest crimes. It was designed to inflict unending suffering on the criminal until their body would simply give up from the pain. There was no cure. It was designed in a way that nothing, no skill, no potion, no blessing, could cure it.

“Miss Mina, how would Jaemin-hyung help? That curse is…” When Chenle looked around, the Huang family looked grim.

“I understand,” she said, “Right now, our only hope is to end his suffering. Only a High Priest can do this so we planned to send word to the capital today. However, before that… before that… I know we might be setting ourselves up for more heartbreak but just in case. You all have brought us miracles so far. Perhaps a miracle might happen one more time.”

Turning back to Jaemin, she asked, “Could you try, Jaemin-nim? Please?”

How could anyone say no to that?

**Author's Note:**

> i only really wanted to write overpowered jeno and jaemin where they keep on leaving everyone flabbergasted because they don't know how overpowered they are. i think i sorta succeeded cause there wasn't even supposed to be a plot but somehow there's a plot now hahaha


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